You Are Lisa Simpson
by Vulcangirl24
Summary: How the epic series should end.
-You Are Lisa Simpson-

The rain poured down around me as I made my way to the most important meeting of my young life.

I had just became the youngest environmental lawyer in the state's history, at the age of twenty-one, graduating from Harvard at the top of my class.

That was a week ago. Now I was in a city I had never been in, looking for a street I'd never been down that would lead me to a building I would be working from for a long time.

My excitement to get to this job as quickly as possible made me unaware that I didn't have a place to live, and that this car with a few precious things in the back was all I owned.

I held onto my saxophone, a geode, a few of my more impressive awards, and of course the note from my first and deepest love, Mr. Bergstrom.

Yes, I was eight. Physically. But mentally, I've always been ahead of others.

I tried dating Milhouse. God, I wanted him to be the one. Everyone else thought he was the one I would end up with. My big brother's best friend. It's textbook. And I love those.

Even Nelson and I didn't work out. And that surprised me, too. He was successful, now owning a few businesses in the city I had called home until I got to finally attend Harvard at the age of sixteen.

Milhouse would visit as often as he could, but we just couldn't make it work. But he's now dating Sherry while Nelson is dating her sister, Terry. I still can't tell those two apart.

Eventually, they graduated high school and went on with their lives while mine picked up speed as well.

Last week was the first time in months I had seen my older brother. He got time off just to come and watch me accept a Degree. To my surprise, he was the loudest person in that audience cheering me on.

I had to smile at him.

He had come such a long way. Shortly after he graduated high school, he enlisted in the Army, becoming a Ranger and doing whatever it is they do. Mom says he's good at it, so I take her word for it.

At least she hasn't changed. No matter how long I'm gone, or what I do, when I come back to town, she's the one thing I can count on not to change. With my life changing so rapidly, I needed that stability.

I think she sensed that, but we never speak of it. It's like part of her job being the mother of two genius daughters and a son who risks his live everyday by simply going to work.

Maggie's smart, too. In fact, she's almost done with her Associate's in Criminalistic Psychology, focusing on repeat offenders. Right now, she's studying on Sideshow Bob, who is still locked away in Springfield Penitentiary.

With Bart being grown and serving his country, Bob was thrown and has been docile and cooperative ever since, giving Maggie an advantage.

Things change. Time moves forward, carrying on without giving a damn about who can't keep up.

Like my grandpa for one. And Mr. Burns. Despite the jokes, Smithers now runs the plant, making life easier for those who still work inside it.

And yes, like my father.

But he's Smithers's Smithers, having taken that position once more after helping the devastated Smithers after his beloved Mr. Burns had died.

He gave my dad an increase in salary, benefits, a 401k and vacation time, making him basically second in command.

My parents now don't have to struggle, and it was because of my father's selfless actions as he took care of Smithers, that my sister and I were able to go to college and not have to repay a ton of debt.

My parents, Maggie and Bart were the only people there as I walked across that stage, and as I looked at my father, he nodded at me, wiped tears from his eyes and stood to his feet, joining my brother in the loudest of praise.

Now, I was hundreds of miles from home, finally pulling into the building I would be working at for what I hoped would be a long time.

I drew a deep breath and let it out slowly, pulling my hood up on my light gray jacket before getting out of the car.

The building was cool, catching me off guard for a moment as I looked around at my new co-workers who were now staring at me.

"Ms. Simpson, right?"

I turned to see my new boss standing there, offering me his hand.

"Lisa, please," I corrected, shaking it.

"Follow me," he smiled.

I walked through a room where a handful of people were at their desks, making phone calls, filling out paperwork and doing research on various things.

"I heard you graduated Harvard recently," he began, stopping at a large oak desk with nothing on it.

"Yes, last week."

"First in your class?"

"Yes," I nodded.

"Impressive."

"Thank you."

"You might've been first there, but here, you're going to have to work your way up. Is that a problem?" he asked.

"No, sir. I'm just happy to be here," I promised.

"Good. I'm going to leave you here so you can meet the rest of your team. Have fun," he grinned, walking away.

I took off my laptop bag, placing it on my desk as I opened it to remove my laptop.

By the end of the day, I had the files I was going to have to get familiar with, had met the four other people on my team and was very eager to get started.

"Go home, Lisa," my boss said to me.

"D'oh!" I cursed, confusing him.

"What's wrong?"

"I...graduated a week ago. My things are still in my car. Do you know where the nearest hotel is?"

He chuckled. "I like your enthusiasm. Up the street there's a motel."

"Thank you."

"Sure."

I put my laptop away, threw the bag over my shoulder and headed to my car, needing a shower and a good night's sleep.

After checking into a motel for a few nights, I took my laptop to the closest restaurant I could find and went inside, hoping they had a vegetarian menu.

"Probably not at a steakhouse, genius," I muttered, sighing at how off I'd been recently.

"Table for one?" the waitress asked.

Before I could make some kind of math joke, someone interrupted me.

"No. For two."

I turned in annoyance to see the man I hadn't seen in twelve years.

"Mr...Bergstrom?" I asked, my voice barely audible.

He nodded. "Shall we?"

"O-Okay," I agreed, following him through the restaurant.

He ordered a bottle of expensive wine, smiling as the waitress left to go get it.

"I heard you recently moved into town. That you joined a huge environmental company as a very young lawyer," he said to me.

"Why keep up on that?" I asked.

"It was in the paper here. Not like I've been watching you for the past twelve years," he grinned.

"And what are you doing here?"

"Teaching. Full-time, permanent gig at the high school teaching less than enthusiastic kids math."

God, I loved math.

"Are you alright? You seem mad."

"I still have the note you gave me," I said to him. "The folded up piece of paper you handed me at the train station before I never saw you again. It says 'You Are Lisa Simpson', and it's been a staple of how I lived my life everyday since."

He smiled. "Yeah?"

"It's gotten me through a lot. Simply by helping me remember where I come from, my roots, if you will."

He sighed and took out his wallet, taking out a piece of paper of his own, sliding it towards me.

Carefully, I opened the piece of paper and laughed a little at what I saw.

"The singing dork," I chuckled. "I didn't draw it."

"No. But you were mortified that someone actually had. They insulted something you found good. It's one of those things that makes you, you," he said knowingly as the waitress returned with our wine.

"How long have you been teaching here?" I asked, taking a sip of the delicious wine.

"About four years. Before that, I just bounced around from place to place, teaching young students.

"None of them have been as bright and as passionate as you, though," he admitted, looking at his menu.

"I haven't been myself lately. I moved out here so quickly to start my job, I overlooked getting a place of my own. And just a half hour ago, I used the word 'D'oh'," I sighed.

He laughed. "How is your father?"

"Better. When he realized that not only was I smart, but Maggie was as well, now in college at the age of fifteen, he made an honest attempt at being the father I needed all along," I nodded.

"Your brother ever win any election?"

I chuckled. "He's a Ranger in the Army now. Gave up his holiday leave overseas to watch me do something he knows he'll never be able to. It was the first time I'd seen him in almost a year."

"Wow."

I nodded. "Yeah. They've changed in the best way."

He took a sip of his wine, going over the menu as I did the same.

"So are you married? Have kids you teach?" I asked him after a few minutes.

"No. Never could settle down. No one seemed to fit," he said casually.

"Yeah, same here. I dated Milhouse on and off for awhile, as well as Nelson. I even had a brief relationship with Ralph, but he was just so...simple. He's a great guy. He is. And he makes a great cop. I just...couldn't see myself being with any of them," I sighed.

"Picky," he teased.

"Maybe. They're all doing so well. Nelson owns a few businesses he bought with a small lottery win that took us all by surprise when he turned eighteen. He's rich and successful. But he's just not who I want.

"Milhouse, either. He's now going to school for...something to do with computers. I forget," I admitted, laughing a little.

He placed his hand on mine, and an instant spark was felt.

As our meal progressed, we laughed at how Edna ended up with Flanders, talked about the irony of Rod and Todd becoming respected and celebrated heroes of Springfield as firefighters.

Brave under pressure and doing things a lot of people would be terrified to do, it was indeed Edna's guidance that got them the respect and admiration of the entire city.

"Excuse me," our waitress said, breaking up our conversation for the moment. "We're closing up."

I checked my watch. "It's eleven?"

"Wow," he agreed, reaching for the check. "I'll take care of this."

"You're sure?"

He nodded.

I went to the front of the restaurant and took out my phone, finding I had a missed call from my mother, but no voicemail.

"I'll call her tomorrow. Kinda late now," I said to myself as I was joined by Mr. Bergstrom.

"Dinner...was nice," he said to me, holding the door open to let me walk out into the warm summer evening.

"Yeah," I agreed. "It was..."

I was cut off by his lips on mine, feeling the spark intensify as we stood there, arms wrapped around each other.

When he pulled away, I stared up at him his hands still in mine.

"I get it now," I said softly.

"Get what?"

"The reason no one else fit. The reason I was unable to feel what everyone else seemed to. The way my mom feels about my dad. I understand it," I clarified.

He smiled. "Can I see you again tomorrow?"

"I would love that," I promised, kissing him again.

Age didn't matter. He was twenty-eight when we met the first time. Now, he's forty and I'm twenty-one. Nineteen years doesn't matter when two people connect on almost every level.

I watched him drive away, sighing happily at the second chance I got with my first love.

It was confusing then. Now, it made perfect sense.


End file.
